The Argosy, Vol. 50

# The House of Halliwell

Mrs. Henry Wood, September 1890

This domestic serial, authored by the writer of East Lynne, follows the Halliwell family through time. Narrated by Hester, it centers on Dr. Matthew Goring's household in Middlebury. When Hester visits during her sister Mary's dangerous illness, she observes the family's financial extravagance—they live beyond their income despite Mary's three-thousand-pound life insurance. Hester disapproves of Miss Howard, the governess hired as false economy, detecting in her a suspicious intimacy with the flirtatious Dr. Goring. Mary confesses she has witnessed their tender manner toward each other, their private conversations about confidential family matters, and their solitary walks together. Though Mary fears Miss Howard may supplant her in Matthew's affections, she hesitates to dismiss a capable instructress. Hester offers to take the eldest daughter to London and urges retrenchment, insisting Miss Howard must leave. The narrative breaks off as Hester descends to confront her brother-in-law in his surgery, having overheard Miss Howard's voice within.